Just about every 3D printing enthusiast will have heard of Shapeways, while many of us will have even bought something through it. Perhaps you even run a little 3D printing shop through them. While Shapeways has been a cornerstone of the 3D printing community for some time now Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO and co-founder of the New York-based enterprise, has recently revealed in an interview with Dutch e-commerce magazine EMERCE that business has been booming over the last year, and that the future is looking bright.
(…weiter auf 3ders.org)

Yet another 3D printer community network has emerged, PrintThis4Me.
The service operates as a community network, where those with 3D printers can join the network and receive requests to print for customers who, presumably, do not have their own 3D printing gear.
(…weiter auf fabbaloo.com)

In the late 1990s, Larry Lukis says he was frustrated by the cost and time it took to produce short run, injection molded parts.
So Lukis founded the Protomold Company, and from it, Proto Labs, Inc. Lukis, a successful entrepreneur and computer geek, took his company public in 2012.
(…weiter auf 3dprint.com)

Proto Labs: Art to Part

Watch an initial concept for a product move from sketch to 3D CAD model to final part. Once a design is uploaded at Proto Labs, we provide an interactive quote with real-time pricing information and manufacturability feedback within hours. Product designers and engineers can choose from various injection molding, CNC machining and additive manufacturing processes — all built to produce quick-turn parts in as fast as 1 day. Learn more at www.protolabs.com.
(Quelle: Youtube)

Many of you will have undoubtedly noticed that 3D printers are exceptionally proficient at producing original and cool smartphone cases; for many, it might even be the very first thing you have printed. Fortunately, Thingiverse is filled with pre-made designs for whatever smartphone model you happen to own, which often also provide the basis for many first attempts at 3D design. It’s fun, functional, replaces something you’d otherwise have to buy in the store, and it’s easy to show off.
(…weiter auf 3ders.org)

Kason Knight and the team at i-SOLIDS say they’re a small group of enthusiasts who share a common interest and have a diverse array of knowledge and skills in the 3D printing sphere, and they’ve just launched a Kickstarter campaign to build a community-driven, 3D printing service they say is unlike any other.
(…weiter auf 3dprint.com)

i-SOLIDS: Creative Control
by i-SOLIDS Group

We are creating an environment that changes the way consumers are able to affordably create, share, and enjoy professional 3D prints.

Intro

i-SOLIDS is a community driven 3D printing service that is unlike any other. We have done our best to summarize the key aspects of this project but we hope that you will also visit our site, i-solids.com, where you can find additional details and FAQs. Thank you for taking the time to learn about and considering support for our vision.
(…weiter auf kickstarter.com)

If you recall, back in August we covered a startup called SexShop3D. The company, located in Paris, France, wants to provide its customers with the ability to 3D print their own sex toys in a variety of shapes and sizes, in the comfort of their own homes. Sound odd? Well it really does make sense. After all, who wants to order such a private toy online and then have it shipped to their home, only to have someone they don’t want seeing it open the package?
(…weiter auf 3dprint.com)

Toyze (pronounced toy-zee), the first „app store“ for 3D printed customizable game characters announced today that over 1 million 3D printable characters have been created by its gamer community.
(…weiter auf 3ders.org)

Observant readers might have noticed that 3D printing technology has been making significant inroads into various heavy industries throughout 2014. We’ve seen that more and more companies in the aerospace and automobile industries have been adopting high-quality metal printing as a prototyping and even a manufacturing technology, while even new military applications are being created. Just last week we reported on a new initiative by the Chinese navy to include metal 3D printers on its warships.
(…weiter auf 3ders.org)